Painful Memories - Former Iraqi Hostage Recalls 1991

4-14-04 - An Oklahoma man knows first hand what its like to live as a civilian hostage in Iraq, and what has happened there in the past two weeks has brought back painful memories.

Bill Roedebush of McAlester was working as a civilian employee of an oil company in Kuwait in 1991 when Iraq invaded the tiny country. He, along with dozens of other civilians, were held hostage by Iraq for four months.

He considers himself one of the lucky ones, but his heart goes out to the men who’ve been kidnapped and killed this month in Iraq, as well as their families. He believes part of the problem that led to the recent attacks are the amount of weapons in civilian hands in the country. But he’s not quick to place blame, instead urging both Republicans and Democrats to work together to solve the crisis in Iraq.

Roedebush received a monetary settlement last year from frozen Iraqi funds, part of restitution sought by hostages for their treatment during four months of captivity.

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